Title: STONEHENGE, AVEBURY AND ASSOCIATED SITES WORLD HERITAGE SITE
1STONEHENGE, AVEBURY AND ASSOCIATED SITES WORLD
HERITAGE SITE
- The Stonehenge Background
- Christopher Young
2UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE CONVENTION
- Convention adopted 1972 to establish an effective
system for the collective protection heritage of
outstanding universal value, organised on a
permanent basis and in accordance with modern
scientific methods - 180 member states
- 812 World Heritage Sites, both natural and
cultural - Governed by the Word Heritage Committee (21
member states) - ICOMOS, ICCROM and IUCN advise the Committee
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre is the secretariat
3What the Convention requires
- World Heritage Sites must have outstanding
universal value, authenticity and integrity - Must also have adequate legal protection and
management systems to protect their value - Outstanding universal value is agreed by
Committee at time of inscription - Committee should be notified by state party of
major proposed changes to any Site - Committee receives reports of problems (Reactive
Monitoring) - State Party periodically reports on state of
conservation (Periodic Reporting)
4What the Committee can do
- If a Site is threatened, the Committee may
- Seek more information, if necessary by sending a
mission - Offer advice or assistance
- Inscribe the Site on the World Heritage in Danger
List, if it believes there is actual or imminent
danger - delete a Site from the World Heritage List
altogether if it has lost the characteristics
which put it onto the List in the first place, or
if necessary corrective measures agreed at the
time of inscription have not been carried out
5The Governments responsibilities
- Government is committed by the Convention to
identify heritage of outstanding universal value
and to protect, conserve, present and transmit it
to future generations - UK government does this through existing
designations and use of the local planning system - PPG 15 advises local authorities
- to formulate specific policies to protect World
Heritage Sites, - to treat then as a key material consideration in
determining planning applications, - calls for development of Management Plans
- Government should notify World Heritage Committee
of major proposals affecting World Heritage Sites
6The Inscription of Stonehenge
- Site inscribed in 1986
- The Committee noted with satisfaction the
assurances provided by the authorities of the
United Kingdom that the closure of the road which
crosses the avenue at Stonehenge was receiving
serious consideration as part of the overall
plans for the future management of the site.
7Justification for Inscription
- Stonehenge and Avebury are the two most
important and characteristic prehistoric
monuments in Britain. They represent the henge
monument par excellence, as the largest, most
evolved and best preserved pre-historic temples
of a type unique to Britain. Together with the
associated sites and monuments they provide a
landscape without parallel in Britain or
elsewhere and provide an unrivaled demonstration
of human achievement in prehistoric times. - (from the UK Nomination Dossier for Stonehenge,
Avebury and Associated Sites WHS)
8Subsequent Committee Statements1986 - 2000
- 1992 ICOMOS urged the Committee to write to the
UK government to support proposed measures for
management of site - 1994 the Bureau noted the then current proposals
and hoped that a satisfactory project could be
undertaken as soon as possible - 1998 the Bureau expressed its satisfaction with
the then proposals (Visitor centre at Fargo
North, the closure of the A344, the placing of
the A303 in 2 kms tunnel), stressed the need to
close the A344 and urged completion of the
management plan with minimum delay - 2000 the Bureau congratulated the UK on the high
quality management plan for Stonehenge and noted
that the government intended to follow ICOMOSs
recommendation for careful evaluation and
assessment at each stage of its implementation
9Subsequent Committee Statements2001 - 2004
- 2001 Bureau noted government proposals for
putting A303 in a 2km tunnel, closing A344 and
siting of the Visitor Centre outside the World
Heritage Site. ICOMOS confirmed that it was in
full agreement with the proposals - 2002 the Committee noted progress
- 2003 the Committee welcomed the governments
decision to construct a bored tunnel. ICOMOS
stated that it would prefer a longer 4.5km
tunnel. - 2004 The Committee noted the progress with the
A303 Stonehenge Improvement and the proposals for
a new visitor centre and welcomed the
opportunity given to the public to make their
views known in the decision making process for
the A303 through a Public Inquiry
10World Heritage Site Management Plans
- First UK WHS Management Plan completed in 1996
- Now in place for 22 out of 26 UK WHS and in draft
for the remaining four - UK WHS Management Plans are produced by consensus
among key stakeholders - Aim for a sustainable balance between
conservation, access, economic use and the
interests of the local community - Plans are developed through a process of
describing the Site, assessing its values,
identifying threats and opportunities, setting
out policies and means for implementation
11Stonehenge WHS Management Plan
- Management Plan published in 2000
- Provides strategy to conserve and manage the site
for future generations - Balances the primary aim of protecting the sites
archaeology with other interests such as access,
farming local interests and nature conservation - Endorsed by all stakeholders in WHS and adopted
as Supplementary Planning Guidance by Salisbury
District Council
12The Management Plan Vision
- Long term objectives include
- Conserve and enhance the WHS landscape and its
many archaeological monuments - Increase understanding and enjoyment of the WHS
as a whole - Improve the landscape setting of Stonehenge by
creating a core area of grass, free of traffic - Maximise benefits for the local community
- Encourage research
13The Stonehenge Project
- The Stonehenge Project aims to achieve a major
part of the Management Plan objectives by - Hiding the A303 from Stonehenge in a tunnel
- Closing the A344 where it passes Stonehenge
- Building a new Visitor Centre outside the WH Site
near Countess roundabout - Removing the existing facilities near the Stones
- Restoring much of the core area of the WH Site to
grass